DISTRICT SPLIT IS ON TABLE MOJAVE SCHOOL BOARD STUDYING POSSIBILITY.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

MOJAVE - Citing tensions between the communities of Mojave and California City over school construction and district finances, trustees are exploring the possibility of splitting the Mojave Unified School District.

Residents of California City have long desired a high school in their community, to spare students a twice-daily bus ride of some 15 miles. But Mojave residents fear that could result in the closing of Mojave High School, since most of the students now come from California City.

``We just have two completely diverse communities,'' trustee Annette Edblad said. ``It's just like one community wants a high school even though it means the other community may lose theirs. It's too hard to accomplish things for kids. I'd just as soon get everybody to quit bickering and get everybody to look at what can we do for our kids.''

The board will discuss the idea at its meeting on Tuesday. Trustees asked Superintendent Wallace McCormick to get information on what the process of splitting up a district would entail.

``We are putting out feelers to see what people feel about it. There seem to be tensions between the two communities. It's been brought up, and we are going to see if the voters want to do it,'' board member Shawn Sprague said. ``We are exploring our options.''

``Most of the people in California City that I talk to think it's a great idea. I've also heard the same stuff from people in Mojave. It's all going to come down to more than that. We have to consider finances, where does the boundary split go,'' Sprague said.

The desire among California City residents for a high school in their community stretches back some two decades. About 65 percent of the 570 students at Mojave High come from California City.

It emerged as an issue in the November 1998 election, with some California City candidates saying the community needed more representation on the board.

Right now, the board has two trustees from Mojave - Edblad and Keith Gainey - and three from California City: Sprague, Wayne Dickerson and George Lewis.

Kern County school officials said splitting up a school district would require a proposal to transfer territory out of the district by either a board resolution or a petition signed by 25 percent of the registered voters who live in the area to be transferred.

The proposal would then go to the Kern County Committee on School District Organization, which would hold public hearings, do a study, and determine whether the proposal meets state criteria, said Bud Burrow, an administrator with the Kern County Superintendent of Schools.

One of the 10 criteria states, ``New districts will be adequate in terms of number of pupils enrolled.'' Burrow said the state Board of Education has defined ``adequate'' as 1,500 students, but that's not an ironclad figure because new districts have received approval with smaller enrollment.

If the committee approves the transfer proposal, then it goes before voters for approval, Burrow said. The committee determines who will be allowed to vote on the issue, Burrow said.

Edblad said a split would not be financially feasible at this point. ``According to the state, both communities will have to survive financially on their own,'' Edblad said.

Of the more than 2,600 students in district, Sprague estimated that about 1,600 are from California City.

In May 1996, trustees voted down a plan to build a high school in California City and turn Mojave High into a middle school as part of a proposed $55 million parcel tax.

The plan drew heavy opposition from Mojave residents but was supported by California City residents.

Trustees in June 1995 indefinitely tabled a proposal to put a parcel tax on the ballot to pay for construction of a second elementary school in California City, citing declining enrollment.

The district convinced voters in November 1989 to approve a $6 million parcel tax to build California City Middle School, which opened in 1993. That parcel tax applied only to land in California City and surrounding areas.

A similar school construction parcel tax measure in March 1989 aimed at the entire Mojave district narrowly failed to gain the required two-thirds majority.